Creston Police: Woman triple the legal limit hits two vehicles, charged with second OWI

Megan E. Banda, 29, of Creston, was taken into custody at 7:56 p.m., Dec. 2 on the charges of operating while under the influence, second offense and interference with official acts.

According to a Creston Police report, at approximately 7:43 p.m., officers were dispatched to the intersection of Cherry and Harsh streets for a two-vehicle accident.

Brian L. Bolinger, 55, of Creston, was driving north on North Cherry Street in a 2015 Chevrolet Trax when a 2007 Jeep Liberty ran the stop sign on Harsh Street without stopping, colliding with the side of the Trax before leaving the roadway, hitting a stop sign and a parked 2023 Nissan Rogue before reentering the roadway.

Officers approached the driver of the second vehicle, later identified as Banda, who was sitting in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition. When she opened the door, officers could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle.

Banda was asked about the accident, and she stated it was because of the snow. Officers observed heavily slurred speech, bloodshot and watery eyes, delayed responses and the strong odor of a consumed alcoholic beverage coming from her breath.

Officers asked how much she had drank that evening, but she said she hadn’t had anything. An empty shooter of 99 Pineapples was located in the driver’s door pocket. After exiting the vehicle, Banda’s balance was observed to be impaired.

She became noncooperative, resisting officers. This led to officers assisting her to the ground to handcuff her as she resisted arrest. After being transported to the Union County Law Enforcement Center, Banda consented to field sobriety testing, showing numerous validated clues of impairment and admitting to having a couple shots earlier in the evening.

The preliminary breath test produced a result over 0.08%. Later, Banda consented to provide a chemical sample on the Data Master, which showed a result of .257%.

Banda was transported to the Union County Jail where she was released from after posting $2,300 cash or surety bond.

Damage to the Trax and the Liberty were each estimated at $5,000, the Rogue at $500 and the stop sign at $200. The Liberty was towed from the scene.